The 4th round of the US Open is now complete and the quarter-finals have been set. Just 8 ladies and 8 men remain in each of the draws and incredibly out of the last 16 players there are 5 players from America. A great tournament so far for the home favourites.

The 4th round started off with an upset in the mens draw as we saw the 20 year old, Shelton, knock out 14th seed, Paul, in a 4 set encounter. Shelton is looking very strong but that 3rd set which he lost he was a break up in that set and those sort of lapses in concentration can cost you a spot in the next round when it comes to then of a tournament or in this case the US Open. However he is looking strong and he is up against fellow American and 10th seed, Tiafoe, for a spot in the US Open semi-final. Tiafoe looked good in his match against Hijikata, the 10th seed taking the match 6-4; 6-1; 6-4. The 9th seed and yet another American, Fritz continued his run at this years US Open as he beat the very impressive Stricker in straight sets. Fritz is now playing Djokovic for a spot in the semi-finals after Djokovic beat Gojo in straight sets. Fritz is yet to drop a set and has looked very impressive…is there anyway he could produce the upset against the new world number 1 after the end of the US Open, Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz managed to beat Arnaldi in straight sets. However if Arnaldi can continue playing the high level of tennis he produced at this tournament, we could be seeing a lot more of him in 2024. 8th seed, Rublev was up against Draper in the 4th round. Both players were playing some great tennis and after 2 sets, they were locked at 1 set all. Rublev however was able to maintain that high level of tennis for the full 4 sets and that enabled him to beat Draper 6-3; 3-6; 6-3; 6-4. He will now face his compatriot and friend, Medvedev in the quarter-finals. Medvedev dropped the first set 6-2 against De Minaur but then managed to rattle off 3 sets to book his spot in the quarter finals. Zverev and Sinner was the big match on paper in the 4th round and oh my word did it prove to be a ridiculous match. The longest match of the tournament so far, it lasted 4h 41min and it was Zverev who came out on top taking the match 6-4; 3-6; 6-2; 4-6; 6-3. His reward is a match against the number 1 seed and defending champion, Alcaraz, for a spot in the semi-finals.

In the ladies draw there were many upsets and I know many people upset because this was the first round where no substitutes are allowed to come into play and many, many teams could have used a substitute after round 4. Muchova started off the round of 16 action and she managed to eventually get over the line against unseeded, Wang. The match ended up going the distance but Muchova found her best tennis when it mattered and took the 3rd set 6-1. 30th seed, Cirstea, continued her impressive form and backed up her win against Rybakina with a straight sets win against 15th seed, Bencic. She now plays Muchova for a spot in the last 4. Both players will feel that they definitely stand a chance in that encounter. Gauff and Wozniacki was an intriguing match. Wozniacki managed to force a third set after dropping the opening set but Gauff played too well in that deciding set to end the run that Wozniacki has been on since returning to the sport. Ostapenko produced the upset of the tournament so far as she knocked out the number 1 seed and defending champion, Swiatek. Ostapenko is the first lady to beat Swiatek 4 times and has in fact never lost to her so far in their careers. With Sabalenka beating Kasatkina in a comfortable straight sets, we have a new ladies world number 1. Sabalenka after the US Open will be crowned the new world number 1, a huge congratulations to her and now we wait and see how far she gets because she is looking good so far at this years US Open. Vondrousova faced a scare after she dropped the opening set against young American Stearns. However Vondrousova is playing some great tennis since her Wimbledon triumph and won the next 2 sets 6-3; 6-2 to book her spot in the quarters. 17th seed Keys was up against fellow American and good friend, Pegula. Keys played a clean match however Pegula did not play her best and that resulted in a comfortable win for Keys. Another 4th round exit in a grand slam for Pegula. Jabeur finally could not come back from a set down and was knocked out by 23rd seed, Zheng who is having a break out grand slam to remember. If she wants this US Open to continue, she is going to have to beat Sabalenka in the quarters which will be a huge result.

Onto the fantasy leaderboard and we have a new leader and it is ‘PhenomeNOnadal’ who has not only taken the lead but leads by 5 points over ‘Dropshots’ who sit in 2nd. ‘Hawks Hackers’ and ‘2nd’ sit in a joint 3rd position while the last prize position, 5th, is occupied by ‘Stentastics’. ‘Talented Turtles’ remain in the lead for the wooden spoon.

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a fantasy organiser.